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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 23, 2015

Kyle Flood

Piscataway, New Jersey

COACH FLOOD: Good afternoon. Exciting week 4; senior day. Always a special day. It's an opportunity for our seniors who have contributed so much to your program over the last really one to five years, depending on who you're speaking of, get one last chance to play at High Point Solutions Stadium in front of the home crowd against a really talented opponent in Maryland, Big 10 football game.

Coach Locksley does and excellent job of motivating that team and keeping them playing with great energy.

They present a lot of issues on defense. They're giving up less than four yards a carry. Got some really talented players on offence, starting with the runningback Brandon Ross, who's a really high-quality football player.

He had a good game against us last year and is somebody we're going to have to work really hard to try to minimize his impact on the game.

They've got two of the best specialists in the country in their kicker and returner. I don't know what the status is for either guy for the game. Their kicker has missed a few games here. Not sure if he'll be available. Will Likely is one of the most dangerous return guys in all of college football, but he left the last game and we're not quite sure what his status is yet.

We are going to prepare as if both those guys will be playing against us.

Questions.

Q. With could you go to a bowl, could not go to a bowl, will you do your normal senior last practice stuff, like carry the seniors off this week? Yeah?
COACH FLOOD: We don't ever carry the seniors off during the regular season.

Q. So nothing?
COACH FLOOD: It'll be a normal game week. We're going to be 1-0.

Q. Would this senior day be any different for you because this was the class that you came in with, a lot of the guys were four years, just being with them for their whole careers?
COACH FLOOD: You know, this senior class, most of these guys started when I was still an assistant coach. There are a couple, like Leonte. He and I been together now for four years.

Every senior day is special for different reasons, and it's usually about the relationship with the different players. I remember seeing Keith Lumpkin as sophomore at St. Peters in Jersey City playing basketball and talking to Rich Hansen about him.

So probably have a story like that about just about every one of 'em.

Yeah, there are a couple in there that we've been together four years. Guy like Leonte, Kyle Federico who have done a really good charge job for us?

Q. On the depth chart, Josh Hicks is at runningback. Is that your plan for this week? Could we see him on both sides?
COACH FLOOD: It's the plan as of now, but we're still working through some of the injury report. I know I put one out today, but that's far from final, I would say.

We'll get an update later today. We are working through the game plan and see who is available, and then have to mistake some decisions by the time we start meetings tomorrow morning.

Q. Kyle, speaking of Coach Hansen, I talked him last we're week and he talked about a conversation you guys had about Keith, that 2010 senior class where he said to you that he felt like of all the guys in the class Keith had the highest upside just because a guy that size. Could you reflect a little bit on the recruitment of Keith and what he's given you these last four, five years as far as realizing his potential?
COACH FLOOD: Sure. I remember the conversation. It was really -- you know, when you talk about upside or potential, when you see a guy who is a legitimate 6'7" offensive tackle body who's a skilled athlete, if you ever watched him play basketball you would know right a way how skilled an athlete he is.

You just say to yourself, if this guy is in the right program and the right weight program, he could really play at a high level in college.

To be a three-year starter at left tackle -- in my time here we've only had two of those Pedro Sosa and Keith Lumpkin. Both really, really good football players.

Keith has done an excellent job. Properly started his junior year the high school was where he really hit the weights and his body started to change and he started to look like a football player.

Q. Kyle, you have Kiy Hester is questionable. If he can't go, would Najee Clayton step in and start?
COACH FLOOD: Those are some of the things we're working through. Saquan Hampton back there. Anthony Ciofi is back there. So we've got a lot of guys back there. It'll just be about putting the pieces in the best places to give us the best opportunity to be 1-0.

Q. How big of a factor were Muller and Lumpkin in the (indiscernible) of the younger offensive lineman to give you the confidence to start them?
COACH FLOOD: I think Zack Heeman probably had the best quote on that. I don't know if it was after the game or on Monday, but somebody asked him about did those guys help. He says, When you're in the middle of Keith Lumpkin and Chris Muller and all the starts they've had, they pull you along and make sure you're going in the right direction.

And it certainly looked that way. When you're in an situation like we were last week where two of your starters are all and sudden out and your starting right guard is now at center and you got two freshman guards playing in the game. You really got to rely on the guys who have you through the games before. Guys like Keith and Chris are certainly at the head of list for us.

Q. We've been told that the PSA that caused fans to boo for the Nebraska game will be on display. Are you concerned at all about how you're going to received?
COACH FLOOD: It's not something that I've been consulted on. I think that PSA is a tremendous message. It's a message about not getting in the car after you've been drinking, so I think that's really important.

It's a really important message for everybody in the stadium. It was not something I pursued. They asked me to be a part of it. When I heard what the message was, I was more than in favor of it.

Q. Going back to talking about Keith, and not only a guy of his size but a guy of his athleticism, when we talk about joining the Big 10, do you talk about getting bigger players up front, that was one of the things you mentioned was it's not just size, it's athleticism. How much of that is a model for what you want to see on your offensive line?
COACH FLOOD: It really is. I'll give you an example: Zack Heeman. What's the comparison? Well, he's talking about two guys that are both 6'7", both guys with 1000-point scores in basketball, and both guys started to transform their bodes as they got closer senior in high school to really start to look like football players. We got to see, whether it was watching the end of Keith's career here at Rutgers - but I don't think the end of his career - and we're watching the beginning of Zack Heeman's.

That's probably the best example I can give you.

Q. With regards to Leonte, do you think he's handled privately a difficult senior year?
COACH FLOOD: Leonte has come to work every day with a lot of energy. Unfortunately he's been a little bit hampered with injuries and things like that. I can only judge it on the way he comes to work every day, and I'm very pleased.

Q. Obviously senior day is kind of a time to reflect. You've seen the best. You've seen, Britt, Sanu, you've seen Underwood. How good is what Leonte's been able to do?
COACH FLOOD: I think they're all unique. They've all got differences in their skillsets, but he's in the conversation with every one of them. He is right with that top group. Whether it's a guy like Kenny Britt, Sanu, et cetera. He goes right to the top of that list.

Q. What were your hopes or your plans with not practicing yesterday, and then are there any other schedule changes with this being the Thanksgiving class schedule?
COACH FLOOD: Just yesterday I felt like we were best served to be in the meeting room. It's not something uncommon this late in the season. We've done that before. Wednesday is a Friday class schedule. That gives us a little bit more flexibility.

We'll use that and do the same things we always do on Wednesday. Just push the schedule back just a little bit, and then on Thanksgiving practice early enough in the morning so the guys that are local can go home and have Thanksgiving with their families. A lot of times they take their teammates home with them. We make sure everyone has somewhere to go.

If somebody isn't back with one of the players, one of the coaches, I always have a place they can go to for Thanksgiving as well.

Q. The depth start that is Laviano to start at quarterback. Any chance Hayden will see any time at quarterback?
COACH FLOOD: Chris is starting quarterback.

Q. I don't see Gleeson listed as one of the seniors that's going to be honored. Could he come back next year?
COACH FLOOD: He has another year of eligibility. There are certain guys I still have to talk to this week about how we're going to handle that.

Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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